Cities issue a flood of bonds in the face of proposed state money-grab

State Treasurer Bill Lockyer released data Friday that confirmed what many local government watchers have known anecdotally for weeks: local officials went on a municipal-bond selling spree in the first two months of this year, desperate to gather as much money as possible in case Gov. Jerry Brown succeeds in his plan to eliminate redevelopment agencies. And some paid a premium to do it.

Municipal redevelopment agencies sold nearly $700 million in bonds between Jan. 1 and March 9, compared with $1.2 billion for all of 2010, according to state figures.

The rush to market comes as the Legislature considers Brown's plan to eliminate the state's 400 redevelopment agencies and send much of the $5 billion a year in property taxes the agencies control to counties, schools and the state.

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-- Jessica Garrison

Comments

[jay]

The thought of losing their SLUSH funds is just unbearable.

Guess who is going to be paying the interest on those 9% bonds?????????